Today, All I Have Is Medication And Lemonade, And I Forgot To Take My Meds. 

The (Incomplete) Injury Log of the ROTTMNT Movie (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Image ID: Image is a low-resolution screenshot from Rise of the TMNT movie. It takes place during the sequence where the turtles try and fail to interrogate Casey Jones Junior. It depicts Donnie lying comically on the floor, seemingly unconscious after accidentally activating Junior’s grappling hook and being knocked out by it. End ID.

salutations fellow turtle analysts! I am currently (very slowly) working on a fanfic that takes place immediately after [ROTTMNT MOVIE SPOILERS!] Leo gets rescued and, although I know it’s largely unnecessary, I wanted to be as accurate as possible about the various injuries everyone had sustained in the movie. for this, I have gone through the movie yet again and wrote down all the notable occasions of the main crew getting hit or being visibly injured and/or in pain for unclear reasons.

some clarifications and warnings before I jump into the readmore

[MORE ROTTMNT MOVIE SPOILERS AHEAD]

1. this log does not contain potential injuries sustained during the first fight with the Krang, EXCEPT for Raph. my reasoning: everyone but Raph got to go home in the escape pods and had a chance to recover somewhat. I think it’s best demonstrated by Splinter - he was majorly hurt during the fight, but seemed to be doing well when Leo and the others left to look for Raph. it could’ve been done to ease on the pressure, for comedic effect, it could just be that the escape pods provide some sort of first aid OR he simply had enough time to recover on his own. and while I don’t think it’s sufficient enough evidence, I choose to believe everyone but Raph did a “reset” so to speak in that scene. if you have counter-arguments regarding this, feel free to dm me about it and I’ll see if I agree and whether I should amend my statement!

2. I tried to keep my notes purely observational in nature, so in some cases I do not state specifically that there is an injury present, but rather describe the character’s expression or gestures and what they might imply (such as, someone holding onto their head or the glowing cracks caused by Mikey’s gateway)

3. feel free to dm me or reply to this post if you think I missed anything! as I’ve said, this log is incomplete, simply because I’m just one guy and can only notice so much on my own. although I don’t promise to amend this post in every case

4. my notes contain some light swearing and take on a more conversational tone in some parts

5. I mean this goes without saying, but there are descriptions of physical injuries, sometimes near-fatal. so take that into account if you decide to read through

6. slightly off-topic, but if there is something wrong with how I did the image ID’s or if there are general issues with accessibility, please let me know! i don’t know if i’ll be able to fix all of my errors, because I spent the entire day working on this post instead of preparing for my entrance exams, but I’d like to at least try

with all that out of the way, I present to you: The (Incomplete) Injury Log of the Rise of the TMNT Movie! (under the cut because it is ridiculously long)

Image ID: Image is a high-resolution screenshot from Rise of the TMNT movie. It depicts, from left to right, Leo, Mikey, Raph, and Donnie looking at the photoraph that Casey Jones Junior had brought from the future. The Key is drawn on the flip-side of the photograph, but the turtles haven’t seen it just yet. Mikey and Donnie are peaking at it from behind Raph’s back and Leo is standing at a slight distance from the three of them. End ID.

Keep reading

Rise April Challenge: Day 4 Dream

Prev - Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: Here

(Kinda streched the prompt a little, but I like it. There is some bad grammer but it’s on purpose.)

Raph knew it was coming, even before the jittering and zoning out started. There was only so many life-and-death situations his brain could take before it decided to take a vacation and leave him behind. But it was only when he woke up to find himself not in his bed, but standing upright in the middle of the lair, that he realized how bad this was going to be. So, knowing he had very little time, Raph began to prepare.  

The whole lair was raided for blankets, pillows, and cushions to add to Raph’s ever growing pillow fort in his room. (It’s not a nest, not a nest, not a nest. Even if he stole sheets from his brothers’ rooms so it would smell familiar. It’s not a nest.) The kitchen is emptied of snacks and water bottles. He moves every single one of his teddy bears into the fluffy pile and he sets up a speaker to play the sound of running water. He moves the more important or breakable items on to higher shelves, or out of the room all together. He’s already. Now comes the embarrassing part.  

He decides that Donnie is the best one to tell. He won’t stress about it too much and will be able to talk the others down if they start panicking. Still, Raph sifts nervosity as he stands outside Don’s lab. He shakes his hands out and breathes as deep as he can. He can do this. He can do this. The snapper knocks on the door.

“Come in!” Donnie calls and Raph crouches through the door and into the dim lab. He crinkles his nose at the smell of metal and oil, and he squints at the weird light. The purple light always made it look both too bright and too dark. Don loved it, but it always confused Raph even on a good day. Which today defiantly wasn’t.

Donnie was hunched over one of the worktables with one of his battle shells, his arms half buried inside an open panel. He didn’t look up as the Raph got closer.

“Uh... Hey Donnie? Can... um... we talk really fast?” The genies looked up from what he was doing, goggle lenses glinting.  

“Of course, large compatriot. What’s up?”

“Uh...” Oh man this was not fun. “So, I’m not really going to be around for a bit.” One of Don’s robot arms pushed up his glasses so he could give Raph a worried look. “Not literally. I’m not going anywhere. And it's nothing bad! Raph promises. But I think I’m just going to go a little... weird? Soon.”

“You’re going savage.” Raph winces at the word. It is accurate, but it still makes him uncomfortable. It always makes him think that he could hurt someone.

“Yeah.” He nods.

“Do you need anything?” Raph waves his hand.

“Nope, I got everything set up.” He’s quite proud of himself for that. “But could you or someone just check in to make sure I didn’t do something...”

“Of course.” Donnie says

“Great. The key is hung up next to the door.” Raph moves to the door, but his brother’s voice stops him.   “You’re locking yourself in?” It’s so much softer than what he’s come to expect from his standoffish sibling. Raph’s shoulders raise straight up, and he freezes.

“Uh.... yeah. I’ve been sleep walking and I don’t want to wander off.” It feels like a confection.  

“Are you sure?”

No. He isn’t. The idea of not being able to get to his brothers is awful, and being trapped alone is way worse. But he can’t just go walking into the sewars. (A small part of him worries about more than just him getting lost. He worries about blood splashing across his face. He worries about bones in his mouth. He worries about dead brothers.)

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s fine, Don.” Raph leaves the lab and hurries to his room.

-

Raph is warm and soft. He is safe and good. He cuffs at the thought and tries to sink deeper into the warm-soft-nice. This is good. He should sleep.

He smells something... important. Something that is also good. Raph snuffles around till he finds where it’s coming from. A thick blanket. He covers his face with it so he can smell it better.  

It smells twirling-acrylic-orange. Mikey. Mikey is good, very good.

Where is Mikey?

Raph lifted his head and pushed back the blanket to look around for his littlest brother. (Not so little anymore, but never as big as Raph. No, never. He never needs to be as big as Raph.) Mikey wasn’t there. None of his brothers were. That was bad. Bad bad bad. Raph needs to get them, to share this soft-warm-safe feeling with them and so they could all sleep.  

He gets to his feet and wanders to the door. He tries to shove it open; it doesn’t give. He grunts and pushes again. Not good, not, not, not, not, not. He wines thinks about breaking it down. He needs his brothers. But it seems like so much work and his brothers are safe. He knows that he just... wants them to be safe here. Is that too much to ask?

He returns to his nest and flops down onto his stomach. It’s not as good anymore.

-

Raph wakes up to something squirming against his side, and hushed words that are hard to understand. He cracks his eyes open and finds a familiar shell lying across the edge of the blanket.

The shell looks like flowing-glimmering-blue. Leo. He looks to his right and finds Mikey leaning on him and drawing in his sketch book, while talking with Leo. Two brothers, it makes him well up with yes-yes-yes-good feelings but where is- 

A voice cuts through his thoughts. It’s shifting-sparking-purple. He turns to Donnie who is sitting on his left with his tablet in his lap looking at Raph questioning. Did he ask Raph something? The snapper lets out a little grumble to ask what Don needs. Words are too hard right now.

Donnie reaches over and offers the eldest a water bottle. Oh, yeah Raph needs that. He rolls to his side disturbing Mike who yelps at the unexpected movement, he takes the water and drinks it. It tastes so good! Should water have a taste?  

He hands the bottle back to Donnie and looks over everyone. Safe. They are safe and good, and they’re here which is so much more good.  

Raph’s mind is worried about them being here. It says that they are not safe if they’re here. That them being here is bad. But that doesn’t make since Raph is here. And Raph can protect them. Even better than that, even if Raph can’t keep them safe, they can keep each other safe. Leo is strong and Donnie is smart and Mikey is kind. They’re so good that they could keep him safe if he needs it.  

(He won’t though, because he’s big and they’re little. No matter how big they are or how strong, they will always be his little ones. His. His. His little ones! He loves them, loves them, loves them-!)

Raph’s mind slips into the haze of pride-love for his brothers, drowning the worry. He lets Mike lean against his chest so he can draw and throws an arm over Leo’s back so he can feel him. He wants to tough Don too, but he knows that tough can be bad for his little brother, so he holds back. Raph can hear him tapping on his tablet anyways.  

He closes his eyes and just lets the overwhelming feelings wash over him but doesn’t go back to sleep. He doesn’t need to. He has his family all around him, safe and good. He doesn’t need to fight or run or even understand what is being said, he can just be. It’s the greatest dream Raph could ever have, and he doesn’t want to miss a second.

Prev - Next - Masterpost

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge.  Also take a look at @rise-april-art-challenge​ for more submissions. Please give feedback if I need to work on something.

Rise April Challange Day 3: Casey And Casey Jr

Prev - Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: here

!TW! Talk of Grief and Loss !TW!

Casey Jones doesn’t remember his mother well. He doesn’t mind too much; he’s lost so many people over his short life. Everyone in the future had, and he's still trying to get used to the idea that isn't normal here. So, he's kind of grateful that he only has vague and blurry memories of her. It means that he doesn’t have much to grieve for.  

He knows that’s shitty to say, but he thinks in his circumstances it’s fair. He’s lost so many people, he’s lost everyone, his whole world. Yeah, it was shitty, coated in blood, grime, and krang flesh. But it was his. He was born into it, it helped make him, and it held everything he had ever loved.  

Master Michelangelo, with his flowing movements and soft sparking magic lifting him high enough to see the world bathed in unworldly light and color that only the two of them could see.  

Commander O’Neil, hugging him with scared arms with a quite “Try to keep up, Jr.” Diving into battle, smiling with bloody teeth as she tore apart burning metal machine.  

The quiet and lonely shrine with a huge, spiked shell that hung on the wall with a pair of cracked purple goggles with red and blue lenses on the table below. Where his family always gathered before a mission, just sitting and holding each other, with hushed ‘I love you’s and ‘be safe’s on their tongues.  

And of course, Master Leonardo. Who had tried so hard to be a father to him, even though he was fighting a war that he knew he was losing, even as he held the lives of everyone on his shoulders. He had tried so hard to be a father that he always said Casey deserved.  

He had lost all of them.  

So... yeah. Casey was grateful that he didn’t have another person to morn.  

But... his mom was here. Alive. And he had to keep himself from panicking because he had time to figure out what to say when you're meeting a version of a mother you had never really known. He thought he had time. He didn’t.

-

Casey Jr sits ramrod straight on his spot on the couch, across from the intimating woman across from him. His mom (mom, mom, MOM!) Stares across from her with sharp eyes and narrowed in what looks like anger, and Casey's mind is very split on this.  

One half of his brain is just screaming that she’s here and alive and real! Not just a story, or a memory that he isn’t totally sure he didn’t just make up. She’s really sitting across from him, and he can see his eyes and hair on her face. And somehow this is the most earth-shattering thing that has happened to him. Or at least the only part of this disaster that he can process.  

The other half of him is trying to decide what should happen now, what he should do or say. He isn’t given the chance to figure out because she speaks first and Casey Jones the Second hears the first words he ever heard his mother say.  

“Do I need to start a collage fund?”  

It’s... it’s absurd, and out of nowhere, and said with such seriousness that it makes Casey break down into laughter that shakes his whole body. He bows over trying to get enough air into his lungs because this is so stupid and chaotic and that probably (is) the best thing you could say in a situation like this. What is his life?  

“No-No!” He says between laughs. “I don’t think-” He breaks into more laughter. “I don’t think I need that.”  

He continues to laugh as she stands, hesitates and then marches to the seat next to him, sits down just as straight as Jr had a moment ago, and stiffly hugs him to her side. He wheezes through his laughter.  

“What-what are you doing?” Casey manages to hiss out.  

“I have been told that mothers are meant to comfort their children when they are crying.”  

Crying? Was he- Oh... yes, he was. At some point his laughs had begun to turn into sobs, and tears had leaked down his face. Everything had just hit him all at once, and he just... couldn’t anymore. He leans down and wipes his nose and eyes, and just breathes.  

“Sorry,” he says. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”  

“It’s alright.” Cassandra (Mom? Casey Sr?) responds, still holding his shoulder.  

It takes a miniate before either of them can do anything other than look over each other, looking over every similarity and difference. Then Mom (Cassandra?) meets his eyes and with a stone face asks what Casey thinks she’s been wanting to since she saw him.  

“Can you tell me how I die?” The time traveler looks away.  

“What makes you think you did?” He doesn’t think he can look at her right now.  

“Because I would not be so foolish or weak as to let my son travel through time!” She says it like he just insulted her, and he wants to argue but...  

“Infection.” He answers. “Which is impressive considering that when you were found you had one arm missing and had been impaled at least 5 times. You lasted about a week after that.” It’s easier to say than he likes. There is silence. Then:  

“I am... happy that I did not abandon you.” He turns to his mom, and she doesn’t look at him, staring past him and he makes a realization. That this whole conversation is as hard and awkward for her as it is for him, and he doesn’t know why it took him so long to realize that. Hell, they're almost the same age! He smiles and faces her completely, pulling on the quiet patience of Master Leonardo.

“I know that this is insane, and neither of us had time to really think about it. But if it helps, I don’t think we need to decide what or how we feel right now.” She pulls a face at the talk of “feelings,” but does relax slightly.  

“Very well. Until we become comfortable with the reality of this situation. Would you be amenable to the title of my brother? I... am uncertain of being refired to as a mother.” Brother? That could work. Casey grips Cassandra’s hand.   Yes, it's Cassandra for now. Maybe for forever, but that would be ok too.

“Sounds good.” 

 Prev - Next - Masterpost

Please check out @zee-rambles as the one who came up with this challenge. Also take a look at @rise-april-art-challenge​ for more submissions. Please give feedback if I need to work on something.

Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed. The scariest movie I have ever seen.

Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed. The scariest movie I have ever seen.

You heard them folks. Spread the love!

(And don't worry Zee, we're just happy you are helping out this community and making us all feel welcome 🥰)

I'm not sure which of your blogs I should put this in, but whenever you comment on my pictures for the Rise April Challange, it really makes me happy to the moon! And it feels like I'm not wasting my time either. Thank you so much for hosting this challenge and letting everyone see each others work! Before I downloaded tumbler, I really didn't know there were so many more fans for the show out there. I really feel like I belong here. I love everyone's art and stories, and I really hope we can save Rise as a community! Thank you again, so, so much! ❤🧡💙💜🐢

Lol. All joking aside though, thank you for participating. And I want to support as many people as I can. I’m tired of toxic fandoms. I saw we invite people in, treat each other with respect, help each other out. And I’m happy you found a community! We all need a place to belong!

Keep up the great work! Sorry I’m not getting to them fast enough! I have so much stupid homework to do!

You can't bury your gays if their already dead!

And yes, it is worth watching.

can someone spoil DBD for me? is it sad? do they bury the gays? it is worth watching anyway?

The Love of a Clan

Prev - Masterpost - Next

Ao3 Link

Cassandra loved the Foot Clan, so it hurt when she realized that they didn't love her back.

Or, Cassy was in a cult, and we don't talk about that enough.

-

Once the mast-  

Once the Shredder had been defeated, Cassandra had offered to help rebuild the Hamatos’ home, with a complete willingness to do so. It was only right that she attempted to undo the damage she had such a large part in causing.  

She just... hadn’t expected them to take her up on the offer. But the small rat, who appeared to be the Clan Leader, had smiled and accepted her offer, even if the rest of his clan had looked reluctant to allow it. 

So, Cassandra had followed them to the ruins of their old home and helped them pick through the rubble to find the most important parts of their lives, even if the things they found were more often just as destroyed.

Cassy recalled seeing the blue Hamato pulling at an acoustic guitar with a snapped neck out of a pile of rubble, with a weak look of devastation. Then he glanced at Cassy and broke into a cheesy stand-up routine filled with music puns. She ignored any diggs he threw her way after that. 

She had seen the youngest of the Clan staring at a wall with a hole big enough for a car to drive through. It must have once been covered in a huge mural, as she could see oranges and reds leaking out around the edges of the hole. The turtle had just stared, wrapping his arms around himself in something like a hug. Cassy had tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he had stepped back before she had even touched him. He had flashed her an open, friendly, and unconvincing smile and she had run off looking for another job that needed doing.

The purple turtle had been the worst. She had been with him when he found his room, broken metal and sparking current boards littered the floor. And in the center of it was a small turtle shaped robot, still and unmoving, its chest torn open and wires hanging out, like some twisted surgery gone wrong. It made Cassy feel horrified, even if she hadn’t known what she was looking at.

But the turtle hadn’t reacted. His face was blank and empty. He only said one word to her.

“Leave.”

She had, trying to not drown in horror and guilt.

She helped them relocate to another part of the sewers and had bought plywood and paint with the little money she had. She spent late nights cutting, and hammering, and painting. 

It hadn’t felt like enough.

- 

Cassandra leaned against the entrance tunnel to the Hamatos’ home and glared at the ground.  

The construction of the “lair,” as the Turtles called it, was done for the day. She wasn’t needed anymore and should just be heading home. But...  

Her dad was home tonight, for once, and she isn’t sure she can handle him right now. 

Before, she would have just volunteered for another round of training by the Foot or asked to go on a mission - even another humiliating coffee run. But that wasn’t an option anymore.  

But intruding on the Turtles’ new home any longer was also not an option. She could feel the awkwardness that was always in the air when she was around. It was growing steadily the long she stood there, even if the Hamatos weren’t around. 

She gripped the edge of her sleeve and tugged. There was nothing for it, no way out of this.  

She had to go home. 

The thought filled her with a hopeless dread. 

“Hey, Cass!” 

Cassandra jumped in surprise and swung at the one who dared sneak up on her and invade her personal space.  

The largest Hamato leaned back to avoid her punch and held up his hands in a placating motion. 

“Whoops, Sorry! Raph didn’t mean to startle you,” the red turtle said with a smile. “I was just happy I caught you before you left.”  

Cassy tried to calm her rabbit quick heart and stood up straight to make eye contact with the turtle, who was still far too close for comfort.  

“Your apology is accepted,” she said and forced herself to at least try to ignore how close the snapper was. “Do you require my assistance?” 

The red Hamato, Rapheal if she remembered correctly, shook his head. 

“Um, no not exactly. I was wondering if you would be willing to train with me?” 

“...I’m sorry?” Cassandra asked, confusion clearing her mind. 

“We just finished building the dojo, but my brothers are all tuckered out, so they don’t wanna come train with me.” He glared back down the tunnel in... annoyance? Cassy wasn’t sure, understanding others had never been her strong suite. 

“You... wish to train with me?” she asked, reluctance evident in her voice. Rapheal blinked and nodded. 

“Last time we fought you were able to throw me! Like a wrestler!” he said with an eggar, giddy look in his eyes that made the previous Foot Recruit lean back at the brightness. The red Hamato just kept talking excitedly.  

“The only other one who’s been able to throw me like that is Mikey! And he doesn’t like wrestling, he prefers fighting with his nunchucks. Which is stupid because-” 

“SILENCE!” Cassandra yelled, and then quickly slammed her hand over her mouth. 

Shit. She hadn’t meant to do that. She had just wanted to make him stop talking so she could think. 

She expected the larger turtle to get angry. All the higher ups in the Foot would have, hell, most of the other recruits would too. But the snapper just blinked in surprise, then his eyes widened, and took two steps back. His hands held up and his tail wrapped around his legs. 

“Raph’s so sorry!” He said, and Cassy distantly wondered why he constantly referred to himself in the third person. “My family doesn’t really have a lot of personal space, so we can forget about it sometimes. You don’t have to train with me if you don’t want to.” 

Cassandra cleared her throat and stood as tall as she could. 

“I would be honored to engage in combat with you again, Hamato Raphel. Please, lead the way.” 

Her new sparring partner shifted and blinked. 

“Just Raph is fine. Are you sure?” 

“I am.” She wasn’t lying. Fighting the Hamatos’ was always incredible. And Rapheal- Raph –always threw himself into his battles so completely, something she understood very well. 

Raph smiled and headed towards the dojo, with Cassy following behind. 

- 

Sparing with Rapheal was the best training Cassy ever had.  

The turtle was so strong that every hit felt like a wrecking ball, and the stances he made felt unbreakable.  

It was like fighting against a hurricane or a tidal wave. It would have been terrifying, if Cassy hadn’t happily returned everything the Hamato gave in kind. Raph was impossibly strong, and every blow she was able to land made her feel just as powerful. 

Weapons had been prohibited for today, so they often just ended up tackling each other and ending up grappling on the ground. Raph’s weight may have helped him here, but he wasn’t as flexible as her. They were evenly matched, and that just made Cassy fight harder to gain the upper hand. 

She had the snapper in a choke hold when she felt him tap out on her arm. She released her hold and fell to the floor, gasping for air. The turtle groaned and rolled over. 

“Water break,” he huffed out, and she nodded.  

Rapheal- Raph, be respectful. She reminded herself. -walked over to a beat up old minifridge in the corner and pulled out two bottles, offering one out. Cassy rolled to her feet and took the water. She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor; her sparring partner doing the same.  

“You have got to show me how to do that throw you used,” the red Hamato said.  

“I will happily help you learn any move I know,” she responded. “But I must request you do the same, your form is much more advanced than mine.”  

The turtle chuckled. 

“Uh, sure.” Both drank heavily and relaxed against the wall. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always talk like that? You’re so formal.” 

Cassy tensed. 

“...I could ask you the same. Your habit of referring to yourself with your name is not common either.” 

“Yeah, fair,” the eldest Hamato admitted. There was a moment of long silence, where Rapheal shifted uncomfortably. 

“I was never very good with names.” Cassy looked up at the snapper, who wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I was never good with words in general. It just didn’t make sense in my brain. Why attach sounds to things? I did use them, but it felt real dumb to kid me.”

There was a soft smile on the turtle's face, as he spoke. Seeing it was like feeling a warm fire across a long room. Warm, but distant.  

But then the smile fell away, and the flames burned out.

“But then Donnie wouldn’t talk at all. He didn’t say a word until he was 4. And little me got scared and wondered if he just didn’t know any words, and so I tried to help him.

“I started narrating what I was doing out loud. Like: ‘Raph is building a tower out of blocks’ or ‘Raph is upset that he has to clean up.’”

The snapper let out a low chuckle.

“It was stupid. But it kinda worked. The first thing he said to me was that I talked too much. I was just so relieved that I actually tackled him. But, yeah, I just never got out of the habit of using my name like that. Plus, I think it adds to my charms.”

Cassy sat in stillness for a long time, then she looked down and pulled her knees up.  

“I had hoped that using more formal language would get my superiors in the Foot to respect me.” Cassadra admitted. 

Rapheal whipped to look at her. “

“Oh, dammit! I didn’t mean to bring up- I’m-” 

“If you apologize again, I will beat you to a pulp!” She said and glared, and his mouth clicked shut 

“...you don’t have to tell me more if you don’t want to.” He said after a minute.  

“No. I want to.” 

She did, surprisingly. Just that one sentence felt like coming up for air after drowning. Maybe it was just because Raph had shared with her first, maybe it was because he was comfortable enough to train with her, maybe she was just at a breaking point. But Cassy wasn’t sure if she could stop now, even if she wanted to. 

“I... hadn’t realized how much the Foot Clan had changed me until Shredder was defeated.” Her schedule was completely empty without training and missions. All of her “friends” had gone off grid. Even her closet only had clothes in red and black.  

“I- I thought they cared about me. They said they did. Or at least they used to.” 

“I’m sure they cared about you!” Raph said, aghast. “They were your clan!” 

“NO, THEY WEREN’T!” 

Cassy shot to her feet, the crackling anger of betrayal and the hot shame of being fooled finally breaking through.  

“'A Clan will protect and care for every part of itself. It will share its failures and victories. No Clan Member may have any doubt that they are loved.’”  

The words she had learned from the Foot’s scrolls flowed out of her without resistance. How many long nights had she spent reading and memorizing every ancient text the clan had saved? She learned every ritual, knew every rite of passage. Yet, she never seemed to earn those rites or rituals. Always falling short.  

“I used to train for days without rest! I trained until I couldn’t stand anymore!” 

She had pushed past her limits over and over again. She had practiced katas until she passed out from exhaustion. She had fought until she could take down even her instructors. But it hadn’t been enough. 

“I did everything they asked of me! I obeyed every request, no matter how useless! And never said anything! ANYTHING!” 

Cassandra Jones had loved the Foot Clan. She had given up almost everything for them. She had almost killed for them. She would have died for them.  

She loved them. 

“But they NEVER loved me!” 

A silence fell over the room. Cassy met Rapheal’s shocked eyes. They looked up at her with barely held back tears, and she felt her own grow misty with pain.  

“...fuck, they never loved me, did they?” She said, voice quiet and breaking.  

They had pretended to. They always told her that they cared about her, accepted her, and would always support her. They had said that they were her family.  

And that family had been something that Cassy had always wanted, always needed, and so she had fallen for the lie. Hook, line, and sinker. 

“I’m sorry,” the snapper said, voice cracking too. “Can I hug you?” 

Cassy hesitated, just for a moment. But all of her words had withered away, and it had been a long time since she had a hug. She thinks that she might need one. 

It was a very good hug. A long one too. But it was so warm and soft, and Raph’s arms held her in a way that was nothing like sparring.  

She wondered how someone could be so strong and so soft at the same time? 

But Cassy did pull back eventually, her face red from anger and embarrassment. She cleared her throat. 

“Apologizes. I lost control there.”  

The turtle just smiled at her. 

“Don’t worry. I’m glad I was able to help.”  

The turtle paused then sighed. 

“Listen,” he said. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I’m pretty sure Pops is about halfway to adopting you. But I don’t know if it’s the best idea right now, and you probably need some time, so I’ll make sure that he doesn’t bother you with that.” 

Raph looked at her, open and honest, and Cassy wondered if his kind stare could possibly kill her. 

“But please know, if you’re ever ready to join another clan, you will always be welcome with us.” 

Cassy felt a small and half dead hope pulse in her chest. 

“I will remember that.”

Prev - Masterpost - Next

Thank you to my beta reader: @biconic-disaster25 Go read her writing, it's Great!

Join!!

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trick or Treat Exchange! (2023)

Hello fellow turtle enthusiasts.

Welcome to the 2023 rottmnt secret Halloween, or as I'm calling it: the Trick or Treat Exchange!

I saw the idea from @ abbeyofcyn (Forgive me for the random @) and decided "Why not? It can be fun!" And so here we are.

To make sure this exchange goes well, this shall be the master post for the Trick or Treat Exchange 2023

Introduction of the dumdum running this

I am Strangermask, Mask for short. I am the only one running this event. If you have any questions or issues, you are free to send any asks or a private dm.

Form for sign up

Google Docs

Rottmnt Trick or Treat Exchange

This is a sign up sheet for the rottmnt secret Halloween/trick or treat exchange! All that needs to be done is to state your tumblr name, wh

*Sign up ends on September 23rd 11:59 PM Mountain time*

Rules

Please be respectful

Do not do any nsfw. If you wouldn't want your boss to see it, don't make it.

For the all loving mother Mary of god, no Tcest. You will be blocked from the blog and immediately kicked out of the gift exchange.

You are allowed to draw or write the gift you're making!

Make sure your gift does have what your secret Halloween person has list for on the table (If you are having difficulty including everything they want on your gift, you are okay to compromise.)

Please be mindful of what is not on the table for your secret Halloween person.

For now, ships will be allowed HOWEVER please be mindful of those who don't like certain ships (If this becomes an issue, I will change this rule.)

Deadlines for gift exchanging will be between October 29nd to 31st. If you need extra time, please inform me immediately so I can inform the person you are gifting.

When the gifts have been exchanged, please @ your secret Halloween person, this blog and use the tags: "#rottmnt trick or treat exchange" and "rottmnt trick or treak exchange 2023"

Have fun with this!

And of course, most importantly...

HOOOOOOOOT SOOOOOOOUP

Rise April Challenge 24: Rebirth

Prev - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here

The yellow of the setting sun was painted over by the swirling pink of the hole in the sky. The wind whistled past Leo's ear as he listened to the young voice coming from his comm.  

“Just tell me when you’re home free, and I’ll pull the plug!”

Casey’s voice rang in his ears as he looked up at the hulking steal encased monster and the endless void of suffering just on the other side of the gate, marching towards him. Towards the city. Towards the world.

Towards his family.  

Maybe that shouldn’t be as high on his list. Maybe a real hero would do this for the world. But Leo isn’t a hero. Leo is selfish, arrogant, and a screw up.

But if there's one thing that Leo could consider good about himself, it was this: he was loyal and he loved his family more than anything. So, screw it.

“Casey, listen to me.” He says, not taking his eyes off the Krang. “When I get to the other side, you close that door.”  

He knows what he’s asking from the kid. Knows he is asking him to pull the trigger, to kill him. Leo knows he could have lied, could have told him to close it without telling him that he was still on the other side. But Casey shouldn’t have to live with the guilt of thinking that it was an accident, that Leo had a chance of making it out and Casey somehow screwed it up. He deserves to know that it was Leo’s choice. That there was no other way out.

“What? Sensei, no!”

Leo tunes out his response, his explanation, to focus on the enemy in front of him. He knows the way it will go, knows the words.

It feels like he’s already said them a thousand times.

Raph’s panicked voice brakes through his concentration. He’s begging, pleading, trying to reject what is happening, to demand and hold all of existence down so that is has no choice but to compile.

Leo did the same when he was dragged away by the escape pod.

He says something, a joke he forgets before it’s even out of his mouth. What he’s really saying is “I know this hurts. I know you’ll hate yourself for this. But you’ll live. You’ll be ok after a while. And that’s all I want.”

He stares at the end of everything he loves, and, with his body and mind collapsing inwards on itself like a dying star, he brings forward his Ninpō and rases his blades.

It’s a pitiful fight that’s over before it starts. But he feels his first blade in the void of the prison behind him and digs the one in his hand into foot pining him down.

“What you fail to understand is I missed on purpose.”

His Ninpō flared and he teleported deep into the prison.

In the moments between the disappearance and reappearance, Leo could swear that he could feel the weight of thousands of despairing eyes burn into his soul.  

The Krang tried to fight him, tried to run back towards the open doorway, and Leo knew he couldn’t keep him there for long.

“Casey, please.” He pleaded.

This is a plea that he knows, one that sings in his blood. Hamatos have always been forced to sacrifice everything for their family, for the world. And they always died the same way: begging their loved ones to understand. To forgive them for not coming home.

The portal closes, the Technodome explodes.

Leo let’s go of his hold and waits for death.  

-

Mikey opens a portal and saves him. He comes home.

But Leo is still waiting for death.  

He sits in his med bay cot and listens to the beeps of his heart monitor and waits for it to stop. He feels each breath and waits for it to be cut off.

Nothing happens.

It doesn’t feel real. He thinks back to when the Krang’s anger was trying to crush him, when it rained hits down to try and crack open his shell and rip apart whatever was inside.

He hadn’t been alone. He could feel them, watery eyes that watched with despair, hands that reached out and tried to hold him, voices that thanked him and whispered to him that “Anata wa hitori ja nai.”  

As he hugged the photo of his family to his chest and smiled, he felt a sense of familiarity well up in him. As if he had already done this 1000 times over. But it wasn't him, no, it was spirits that gathered around him. That could do nothing but reach out for him as he waited to die.

Leo wonders how many of his family sacrificed themselves for the ones they loved, how many died for some cause. How many deaths did it take to carve the knowledge of sacrifice into a bloodline?

But Leo hadn't died.  

He began to cry. He let the tears flow freely and he cried. Because even if his heart had never stopped beating, he still felt like he had died. Like whoever he was had disappeared into that dimension and left him a broken body to return to his family.

But that wasn’t true, he was alive. Scared and beaten and broken, but alive.

Why? Why him?

Out of everyone, out of all the souls that had reached out and shared his pain, why was he the one to come back home?  

What had he done to be brought back while they were mourned?  

No one answered.

After a minute Donnie would walk in on Leo still crying. He would grow stiff and reach out and grab his hand. Leo would cling to it and sob that he was sorry that he hadn’t listened to them, that he had put them in danger for his ego, that he had almost made them lose him.

Donnie would just cling right back and soon began to cry in turn, begging Leo to never do that again. To always be safe and with them, and Leo agreed.

Thus, Leo returned to life not with fire and ash but with tears and sobs. Nothing would be the same, nothing would be the way it was before, but they would always love each other and nothing else mattered.

Prev - Masterpost Ao3 Link: Here Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge and look at @rise-april-art-challenge to see more submissions by other fans. Please give me feedback if there is anything I should work on.\

@nickelodeon Bring Back Rise

Rise April Challenge Day 1: April O’Neil

Next - Masterpost

Ao3 link: here

Today, April had learned something very important, something that she was quite mad at her mom for not telling her. And that was that people were overrated and mean. They weren’t worth her time, and she was never going to talk to one again. Screw those stupid cartoons, the power of friendship was dumb, and she didn’t need it!

The first day of school had not been fun for April O’Neil. Turns out, that kids can be cruel and will easily turn on someone that is even slightly different.  

She laid down on the grass under an old tree and watched the other kids run around the jungle gym with narrow eyes.

She was mad, enraged even, and if her mom thought that a trip to the park would cheer her up then April would prove her wrong. This was not the type of mad that went away with swings and ice cream. This was a life changing type of mad, the kind that made people wear black and laugh evilly. Yes, this was a supervillain mad. And April didn’t think she would mind being a bad guy, they were cool, and they didn’t need any friends.

They didn’t get lonely.  

She wasn’t lonely. She was mad. She was mad. So mad that there was no room to be lonely. She-

Something fell out of the sky inches away from April’s nose. She jumped and scrambled back, fear and shock playing across her face. The thing lay unmoving on the ground as she tried to catch her breath. April looked up into the tree above to see where it had fallen from, but nothing was there. She looked back at it on the ground, and after a moment bent over to pick it up.

It was only about the size of her fist, round and purple, cold and smooth in her hand, and she turned it around. No markings or anything. Was it an egg? Could there be purple eggs? She put it near her ear and shook it. Nothing. April put it back on the ground and stared at it. What were you meant to do when things fell from the sky? Should she just leave it? Tell someone? Call 911? Did this happen a lot?

The egg-thing had apparently gotten tired of waiting for April to do something, and she watched as it sprouted legs. It was so sudden that it took April a few seconds to realize what had happened, she blinked down at its four limbs folding out of its body. Then the thing bolted away from her, towards the bushes that bordered the park.  

“Hey!” She sprinted after it, “Come back!”

It was fast, scurrying across the ground like a spider. Dodging and weaving its way around rocks and sticks. It was too far for her to reach, and it was about to disappear into the scrubs, never to be found again. But she was April O’Neil, and it would not get away that easily. She flung herself forward, arms outstretched, and eyes shut tight as she dove into the bush. Her knees scraped against the ground as she slid, and the branches scraped and caught on her clothes as she broke through the wall of leaves. But her hand had closed around the sphere. She had it.

“Ha!” she shouted “Got ya!” She opened her eyes and stopped when she saw two tennis shoes at her eye level. April looked up and met two wide black eyes, framed by square glasses.

“Uh...Hi?” April said. The masked kid jumped backward, stumbling away from her and falling onto his butt. “Hey! It’s ok, I was just chasing this thing.” She held up the purple sphere so he could see it. “It fell out of a tree and grew legs!”  

The boy did not respond, shrinking into his oversized hoodie, sleeves falling over his hands and the collar covering the bottom of his face. Silence stretched between them for a few seconds as April waited for the kid to talk. He didn’t.

“My name’s April, what’s yours?” Silence.

“Are you ok?” Nothing.

“Can you talk?” The boy shakily nodded. Well, that was a little better. She slowly sat up on to her knees, before looking at the other kid again. “Sorry it I sacred you, this thing was just super cool, and I didn’t want it to get away.” The boy uncurled slightly and leaned a little forward.

“You think it’s cool?” April blinked at the odd question but nodded.

“Yeah, it just fell out of a tree and grew legs all by itself!”

“Well not all by itself.” The boy reached into his jacket and pulled out a blocky remote control. He punched a few buttons and the thing in her hand wiggled out of her grip and ran toward the boy. April’s mouth dropped open.

“It’s a robot?” she asked, amazed.

“Yes,” the boy said sitting straighter and smiling proudly, “I made it.”

April’s eyes widened “Really?”

“But of course. I am testing out different joint attachments and its flexibility so it can climb and cling to different surfaces, that way-”

The boy sat up straighter as he talked, arms waving and gesturing to the bot as he talked. April smiled and listened. She decided that she liked this kid, he was weird. But in a cool way, and he was going to be her friend. But he had acted super jumpy before when she had tried to talk to him before, she would need to be sneaky.

The boy was lost in talking about wires and frequencies, legs kicking out in excitement. Perfect. April scooting closer, nodding and smiling even if he wasn’t really looking. Almost. Almost. He stopped talking when she shoved her hand in front of his face. He looked up at her, scrunching his eyes.  

“My name is April.” She said with a smug grin, happy to have managed to confuse him enough that he wouldn’t just run away.

“Yes, you said that already,” he responded dryly.  

“Yeah, but you need to tell me yours and shake my hand.”  

“Why?”

“Because.”

“That’s a stupid reason.” He turned his head away defiantly.

“Well, I can’t be your friend if I don’t know your name.” She said. The boy’s body stiffened, and he slowly turned towards her.

“You want to be friends with me?” he asked shakily. She smirked.

“You have to tell me your name first.” she demanded. He hesitated and squirmed, April stood still holding her breath. It was all or nothing now. The boy took a breath and locked eyes with her.

“You can’t take it back.” The boy declared.  

“Deal.” She reached to take his hand, but he pulled it back.

“And! You have to be my brothers’ friend too.” April shook her head. While more friends sounded exciting, she wasn’t going to just agree without meeting them. Kids could be mean after all.

“No, I haven’t met them. What if I don’t like them?” The boy paused to think.

“If you like them, then will you be their friend?” He asked. She nodded, that seemed fair. The boy reached out and took her hand. “I’m Donatello.”

April eyes widened as she staired down at her new friend’s green, three-fingered hand, and after a moment smiled at him.

This was going to be way more awesome than being a supervillain.

Next - Masterpost

Ao3 Link: Here

Please check out @zee-rambles who came up with this challenge.  Also take a look at @rise-april-art-challenge​ for more submissions. Please give feedback if I need to work on something.